THE PREP PERIOD

Quick tips, tools & tricks you can take to the classroom on Monday

AI Prompts for Study Skills | This week's tip comes from AI for Education​

What do you picture when you think of a student using AI? Is it something like "topic in, essay out"? Or maybe "question in, answer out"?

Teaching students to use AI as a tool for their own thinking, rather than a replacement for it, can be a challenge, mostly because it requires showing them what that actually looks like in practice.

Try teaching this study prompt tip from AI in Education: Create a Study Plan​

AI diagnoses the gap between their method and their assessment and builds a targeted plan around their input. The output is a starting framework to test and adjust, not a finished answer. This can be a helpful addition to a co-created Learning Contract for example.

On that note: not every educator has the opportunity for writing individual Learning Contracts or building study plans 1:1. And not every student has someone at home who can fill that gap. This gives them something to reach for on their own - with your guidance as the foundation.

LOUNGE READS

The AI headlines that matter for your classroom

This week at the policy level, the federal government just finalized an official AI education priority that will shape how grant money flows to schools. At the classroom level, districts rolling out AI tools are finding that the technology is the easy part; the harder work is building the human infrastructure around it. And a senior reporter from Vox asks a more fundamental question about what we actually want children to gain from an AI-saturated world.

American Enterprise Institute

​The U.S. Department of Education Just Finalized Its AI in Education Priority​

The federal government now has an official AI education priority - and it will shape grant funding.

"It frames AI as a means rather than an end, centers teaching and learning over technology for its own sake, and adds meaningful language on universal design and age-appropriate use. But sidestepping parental consent may be a decision the Department comes to regret."

K-12 Dive

​Human-Centered Approach Key in Classroom AI Implementation​

Districts rolling out AI tools are learning that the technology matters far less than the people using it.

"Introducing AI without a strategy can create an 'efficiency paradox' where legacy school models become more affordable and efficient but aren’t responsive enough to student needs..."

Vox

​How can you prepare your kids for AI’s disruption to the job market?​

Focusing on the collective over the individual may be the antidote to a rapidly changing world.

"As AI use pervades society more and more, I think the most unusual kind of person will be one who has become neither brain-dulled nor virtue-dulled by deferring to AI models without using their own cognitive muscles first."

SARAH'S PICK

EdTech Magazine

​IT’s Role in Teacher Retention: Smart Technology Decisions Reduce Burnout​

I survived the 2010s 1:1 Ed-tech boom.

I was sent iPads and Chromebooks to complement my 3 desktop computers. I had 3 online math platforms, 2 online reading platforms, 1 online diagnostic tool, and a half-time campus technology specialist to manage a school full of devices - and all of the problems that come with them. I had expected quotas for how many minutes per week each student spent on each platform. And my pay was sometimes tied to my observation score, which included a "21st century skills" component. (Read: "technology integration".) Needless to say, I started to burn out.

It started to feel more like I needed to prove I was a good tech tool ringmaster than to demonstrate I was an effective teacher through the execution of a quality lesson. There was no top-down guidance on the expectations and certainly none on the limits.

As humans, we tend to almost deify new technology, offering as much of our labor to it as possible. In 2026, the idol is AI.

But the AI boom is giving us a chance to apply the lessons learned in the 2010s: to name what we got wrong, to be more intentional, and to build expectations, limits, and clear guidance before the mandates arrive.

I think this quote from Jared Cooney Horvath describes it best:

Let's not let AI become the pedagogy.

The sudden and rapid influx of tech in my classroom definitely created more labor than it did value for my students. The antidote this time around? Outcomes-based decision making.

When your school or district is evaluating AI tools, start with the outcome you're trying to move, not the tool. What do students need? What is taking up teacher time that isn't getting them there? The answer might point to an AI tool. It might not. Either way, the right sequence is problem first, technology second. And teachers, who bore the brunt last time around, must be part of the conversation.

A NOTE BEFORE YOU GO...

I'm glad you're here! If something resonated this week, hit reply and tell me. If you know a fellow educator who would find this useful, forward it their way. The village grows when educators share with other educators.